A BRAVE teenager has shared the harrowing story of how she was groomed online by a man twice her age in the hopes that it will encourage a crackdown on social media sites.

Gemma Ward, 17, wrote to Digital Secretary Matt Hancock with her story asking him to take steps to stop other young people being targeted online.

In her letter, the sixth form student told of how she was contacted by 32-year-old Michael Wood on Twitter when she was 15 and living in Blackburn.

She said Wood offered her support when she tweeted about missing friends during school holidays, before moving on to complimenting her and offering her concert tickets. He then began emotionally blackmailing her by blocking her on the social media on and off to pressure her to eventually meet and have sex.

“What happened to me when I was 15 wasn’t ordinary or anything a 15-year-old should have to go through.

“I didn’t know he was married and more than twice my age. I didn’t know what it would lead to because I didn’t understand what grooming was.

“He told me what to do and I was so scared I just did what he said. I just stayed silent.

“He took advantage of me not being able to speak and had sex with me. I felt like a rag doll.”

Ms Ward eventually confided in a family member and, in January, Wood was jailed for three years for three counts of sexual activity with a child.

Ms Ward, backed by the NSPCC’s #WildWestWeb campaign is calling on Mr Hancock to bring in a mandatory code to force social networks to keep children safe.

In her letter she said: “I really want you to make things better. I don’t want anyone else to go through what I went through.

“You’re in charge. If there’s anything you can do, any rules you can make, or any punishments you could give social networks to force them to protect young people, please just do it. You can stop this.”

The NSPCC is asking its supporters to tweet Mr Hancock to spur him into action.

Peter Wanless, NSPCC chief executive, said: “Gemma has been incredibly brave to come forward and report this abuse and achieve justice.

“Her story is heartbreaking, but we know that every day more girls her age are being targeted by online predators using social networks to groom children.”

“Matt Hancock has the power to do something to stop this from happening. We urge him to listen to Gemma, and to use his internet safety strategy to bring in an effective mandatory code to force social networks to protect children.”